Know the game: Insights to help early career researchers successfully navigate academia

Career trajectories in science are often unpredictable, with many early and mid-career researchers working multiple successive fixed-term contracts, and physically relocating to take up employment opportunities. Whilst this can provide exciting opportunities to change research direction, acquire new skills, and see the world, the precarity of this scenario is also a significant cause of anxiety for many, and can have a negative impact on their ability to maintain career momentum and trajectory, access institutional financial benefits, or make long term career or financial plans. Here, we build on a pair of workshops held at the 2021 International Federation of Placenta Associations annual conference to discuss two key areas important to help early career researchers navigate their careers - building an academic profile, and the financial ramifications of academic careers.